DWP appoints Mayank Prakash as new technology director

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has appointed Mayank Prakash as its new director
general of technology, replacing former CIO Andy
Nelson.

Prakash joins in November from investment bank Morgan Stanley, where he has been since 2011,
most recently as managing director of wealth and asset management technology.

The new role is responsible for technology delivery to support the DWP’s digital services – in
effect, the equivalent of the chief technology officer position found in several other Whitehall
departments.

Prior to Morgan Stanley, Prakash has a background in the IT industry, serving as CIO of software
firm Sage for four years, and in CIO roles at suppliers iSoft, Avaya and Alcatel-Lucent.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to simplify welfare by transforming one of the UK’s
largest IT estates to deliver easy-to-use digital services. It is a professional privilege to
improve how the government delivers services to 22 million citizens,” said Prakash in a
statement.

DWP permanent secretary Robert Devereux added: “Mayank has a wealth of experience in leading
technology and business transformation. His expertise will prove invaluable to the department.”

An
internal IT audit in January exposed major gaps between the DWP IT strategy and the wider
government digital strategy. It also showed failings in IT architecture and a lack of performance
measures to track the success of DWP’s technology and how well it supports the department’s overall
business objectives.

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